Friday Finds... Oh So Many

I love Friday Finds because it's that great opportunity every week (every Friday, to be exact) where I get to admit to my compulsions and provide tangible evidence that I will never make a dent in my TBR pile or wish list.

I thought I was doing really good this week, I didn't find anything on last week's Friday Finds meme posts that really flipped my trigger, but somehow I still put eight new books into my queue (one was purchased and the other seven are on the wish list). Here they are in all of their literary glory:

Mating Rituals of the North American Wasp by Lauren Lipton – This was linked to as a current read in the side bar of Bookfan-Mary’s blog. The title (and cover) caught my eye, so I checked it out on GoodReads.com and added it to my wish list. The plot twist of a drunken Vegas wedding with an offer that can’t be refused were what caught my eye.

How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper – This was another random book in the sidebar of Bookfan-Mary’s blog that caught my eye by the title. She linked it up to Amazon.com where I read the first couple of pages (and was hooked). I love guys writing about guys in funny and irreverent ways in unique situations.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson – This book has been, well, everywhere. I was putting off reading it because it was too, well, everywhere. (I’m a book snob, okay?) It popped up on my Book Lover’s Page-a-Day calendar and I kind of fell in love with the story of a mountain climber who gets nursed back to health and then gives back to those people. Climbing mountains? Always cool. Giving back? Always cool. Keeping a promise? Always cool.

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria by Eve Brown-Waite – Another book that I’d been sitting on the fence about; this memoir of a caffeine-addicted city girl who falls in love with a “Peace Corps Poster Boy” and then follows him around the world as a volunteer finally made it onto the list. All in thanks to the review by Alison at Worducopia’s review with the personal story.

The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton – I know this book, a tale of five women united through their shared love of literature that meanders over 40 years of change in the country and change in their lives, has been around for a while (it actually has now finally been released in paperback), but I never got to it. Now, in celebration of the paperback release, Kylee over at Kylee’s 2009 re-posted her review, which I finally read, and now it’s on the list.

Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever by Walter Kirn – This is a memoir by freelance writer Walter Kirn about his time at Princeton and his take on how ivy league education is merely, “an arena for gamesmanship, snobbery, social climbing, ass-kissing, and recreational drug use, where the point of literature classes was to mirror the instructor's critical theories and actual reading of the books under consideration was optional.” I got this recommendation from the fine folks at Very Short List.

Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford – This book is about a high school freshman, Will Carter, and his trips and stumbles through a freshman year filled with social ups and downs (including, but not limited to stuttering around females, fascination with boobs—see previous—and a run-in with a band member that may result in blood shed). This was an impulse buy at Barnes & Noble. Based on the reviews on GoodReads.com, I don’t think I’ll be disappointed in this “Guy YA” book.

Guys Write for Guys Read, Edited by Jon Scieszka – I found this book, a collection of short stories by male authors for teen guys—guys writing for guys—on a random library list, “all-time-favorites-young-adult,” on GoodReads.com. Check out the Guy's Read website for more cool stuff to get young guys (middle grade and YA) reading.